It was exactly one week ago when we told you about how David Vonderhaar, Studio Design Director, was the subject of death threats regarding the newest Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 patch. We also let you know of the response given by Dan Amrich, Community Manager at Activision, which focused on abuse in the games industry.
Over on the PS Blog, after announcing that Vengeance was now on the PSN, Dan Amrich responded to a comment that read:
Yes, I read your article also. I don’t play these types of games since I would be killed so quickly it would be no fun for me, but I’m thinking your game must encourage this type of anonymous internet pseudo tough guys. Every time I read something about internet bullying, trash-talking (I can’t list the types of slander because Sony uses filters for the words) about people’s origins or orientations, COD is cited. Specifically, COD on Xbox, due to the “robust” chat feature.
Maybe your devs need to also look inward and ponder their own unwitting contribution to the sorry toxic atmosphere?
Here’s what he had to say:
I think jerks are going to be jerks wherever they can be jerks. I don’t think it’s confined to or specifically encouraged by any one game or console.
Where do you stand on this issue? Do you think Call of Duty is to blame for the jerks? Or are the jerks to blame on Call of Duty? Let us know in the comments below.
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